Summer in the City
Page 33
She could barely breathe. She desperately wanted to say yes, to let Michael redirect the course of her life. She wanted to run from all the pain that her return to Ohio meant.
“You don’t play fair,” she sighed. It would be so easy to yield.
“I’m fighting for our future.” His hands on her body were coaxing her into compliance. She had to break free of the spell.
“No. No, Michael, stop.” She pulled away from him and strode across the room. Then she turned to face him again. Her tone was determined. “I can’t promise you anything. I’m leaving and you can’t follow me.”
She couldn’t divide her feelings between Rick and Michael. She had to focus on seeing Rick again and learning for sure if their marriage was over.
“Don’t say that.” Somehow he had coaxed her down on the bed again. He spread open her robe, lifting the hem of her gown. His knee was between her legs. As his hands bared and caressed her body, his words continued to tempt her. “You’re mine. I won’t let you go.”
The tears started leaking from her eyes again, even as her body fervently responded to him. She was still crying at dawn, after he had taken her with a tenderness that made her ache, bringing her to exquisite fulfillment again and again, each time telling her of his love.
She did not change her decision. Finally, Michael had to accept that he could not sway her. She was leaving him. The realization came to him. He changed from determined and hopeful to frozen. He gave her a final kiss, and quietly rose and dressed.
“I’ll see you soon. Be strong.” His tone was controlled.
She wrapped herself in the sheet and went after him, catching up with him as he reached the apartment door. She touched his dark hair gently, and then the skin of his face. Trying desperately to memorize them. She placed a kiss on his lips and drew back. “I love you,” she said. A flicker of feeling showed in his eyes but was quickly doused.
Then he was gone. She threw herself back on the bed and prepared to cry her eyes out.
The tears didn’t come. She found herself wondering about Ohio divorce law, something she had never thought about before. Which pieces of furniture she wanted from the house. Even how and when to tell Nancy.
When Michael was pressing her, she wasn’t willing to commit to a divorce. Now she was beginning to get excited. She could do this. She didn’t have to cry her way back home. She wasn’t running home a failure, either. She’d learned hard lessons about business and friendship, and about dreams. It was long past time she took her needs seriously
She never fell back to sleep. Her thoughts raced. She kept making lists of things she should do when she got back to Ohio. She finally began a frantic rush to collect up all her possessions and organize them. Rona was keeping the apartment empty for her just in case. She did all the practical things, like cleaning out the refrigerator and making her plane reservation. Then she did the sentimental ones, like carefully wrapping a dried wildflower Michael had given her during their weekend on Long Island. Queen Anne’s Lace had never been so dear to her before.
Finally her taxi arrived. She didn’t bother to carry much luggage. Instead she asked the cabbie to drive first to the southeast corner of Central Park where the hansom cabs waited for romance-inclined tourists. She had been one of them this summer.
She stared out the taxi windows and absorbed the big city for the last time. No matter what passionate promises Michael had made, he might not be able to keep them. Time and distance could destroy their love. So many unknowns stood between them. Waiting and longing for a lost love was a terrible way to live. Look what it had done to Rona.
The time with Michael had been brief, but she would cherish it the rest of her life. Chances were he would meet another woman. Perhaps a younger one with less emotional baggage. Or not.
Her feelings would be all over the map in the next months. She and Rick had been together so long. If that life ended, it would be a wrenching experience even if they both behaved in a friendly and civilized manner. She would emerge from it, whatever the outcome, a changed woman. Perhaps not the woman who was in love with Michael.
Did she regret any part of this summer? No. She had come here with unfulfilled dreams, and with confusion and fear in her heart about her future. She had lived her dreams. Some she had abandoned for good reason. Perhaps the compulsive behaviors she had left behind were lying in wait for her if the days with Rick grew dark. Who knew?
What of the passionate sexual love she had discovered? Was Rona right and the thrill would wear off? She and Michael had had so little time together. Did they have a future? Once immersed in her old life, she might end up repudiating her summer love affair. But she would not forget. She would never forget. Not Michael’s touch, not the feel of him on her skin, not the look in his eyes. He was the ultimate experience of her summer in the city.
She blew the park a last kiss and told the driver to head straight for the airport.
A Note from the Author
Thank you for reading Summer in the City. If you enjoyed this book, please tell your friends, and consider reviewing it wherever you like to post reviews.
I have other books featuring mature heroines in the works. If you’d like to be notified when my next story comes out, click this link or go to my website, irenevartanoff.com, to join my mailing list. I’ll only send you information about new releases. I promise no sharing and no spam.
Table of Contents
Also by Irene Vartanoff
Chapter 1 June 2004
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
A Note from the Author